Curtain Up: Make sure to get a seat now for ‘42nd Street'

BILL O'NEILL

12:12 PM, Jul 12, 2011

Hurry to get your tickets to "42nd Street" at the Naples Players, running through July 30. You are not going to see community theater better than this.

For those who have been living in a cave, "42nd Street," based on the Busby Berkeley movie of 1933, is the backstage fable of Peggy Sawyer, the little girl from Allentown, who saves the big show when the leading lady star breaks a leg and cannot go on. Peggy famously goes out there a youngster and comes back a star.

The story is pure corn, and the songs are old-fashioned. With a couple of exceptions — "You're Getting to be Habit with Me" and "I Only Have Eyes for You" — these are not the cream of 1930's show music. The pacing, one huge production number after another, can get wearing.

But the show is all about the dancing, and the director/choreographer Dawn Labrecht Fornara has pulled together a group of energetic young performers who tap their hearts out in one number after another. One can only imagine the grueling rehearsals they must have gone through to learn all these routines and this style of dance. Peggy Sawyer's torturous 36 hours learning the routines to "Pretty Lady," the show within the show, cannot have been much tougher than what these kids went through.

"42nd Street" won't work unless Peggy delivers in the "42nd Street" number itself, convincing the audience that this girl actually has the star power to carry a big Broadway show. Rachel Aryn, who up to then has played Peggy with awkward charm, transforms into an assured, sexy pro. She owns the stage.

The other lead performers are well cast and very good, despite some difficulties with their vocals.

I was concerned about the sets. How was a huge show like this, with a zillion scene changes, going to be presented in the Sugden? No need to worry. Matt Flynn has figured out when to bring out the big sets and when to keep the stage fairly bare, highlighting the great, flashy costumes and the glittery props and making room for all those wonderful dancers.